The Baltimore Orioles place lefty reliever Jamie Walker on the 15-day disabled list with left elbow inflammation. Walker has pitched in 37 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this season and he is 1-0 with a 4.98 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. The Orioles have activated lefty Adam Loewen from the D.L. and he will replace Walker in the bullpen. Loewen has started 4 games for the Orioles this season and he is 0-1 with a 7.85 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. Loewen will need to focus better as a relief pitcher as every mistake is magnified. He has allowed 5 homers and walked 15 batters in only 18.1 innings this season for the Orioles and he will need to do much better than that the rest of the way if he wants to stay in the majors.

The Orioles have placed righty reliever/starter Matt Albers on the 15-day disabled list with a case of right shoulder inflammation. Albers has pitched in 28 games (3 starts) for the Orioles this season and he is 3-3 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Orioles have recalled righty reliever Fernando Cabrera from his rehab assignment to replace Albers in the bullpen. The 26-year old Cabrera was pitching great in AAA this season. In 11 games in AAA (0 starts) for Cabrera he was 0-0 with a 0.69 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has pitched in 103 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 6-6 with 1 save, a 4.94 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.

Alex Cintron will be the new starting shortstop of the Baltimore Orioles as they have designated Freddie Bynum for assignment. Cintron has played in 19 games for the Orioles this year and he is 14 for 43 (.326 avg, .775 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Cintron should be an all around upgrade for the Orioles as he is a better defender than Bynum and a much better hitter. Bynum has played in 34 games for the Orioles this year and he is 19 for 99 (.192 avg, .480 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

The Orioles felt obligated to give Freddie Bynum his first chance at a starting job replacing Luis Hernandez at shortstop. But he better get his bat going soon or he will soon go back to being a reserve infielder. Bynum has played in 27 games this season for the Orioles and he is 18 for 83 (.217 avg, .538 OPS) with 10 runs scored and 4 RBIs. If Bynum doesn’t pick up the pace soon the Orioles will turn to veteran Alex Cintron to start at shortstop. He has played in 13 games for the Orioles this season and he is 9 for 30 (.300 avg) with 1 RBI. The Orioles would be smart to switch shortstops now as Cintron is simply a better player than Bynum is.

The next time the Orioles need an outfielder they might call up 28-year old righty swinging Luis Terrero who is playing well in AAA ball. Terrero has played in 59 games in AAA ball for the Orioles this season and he is 71 for 228 (.311 avg, .873 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 6 homers, 46 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. I’m starting to wonder if Terrero is a AAAA player…..too good for AAA and not good enough for the majors. He has played in 243 games in his major league career and he is 129 for 551 (.234 avg, .675 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 14 homers, 52 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. But, he has whiffed an astounding 161 times in the major leagues.

The Orioles have seen enough of Steve Trachsel this season so they decided to designate him for assignment. The Orioles were hoping that Trachsel could have pitched well enough this season to net them a couple of prospects at the trade deadline like he did last year, but that was not to be. Trachsel pitched in 10 games (8 starts) for the Orioles this season and he was 2-5 with a 8.39 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. Trachsel’s other numbers were very ugly too as he allowed 53 hits, 10 homers and he walked 23 batters in only 39.2 innings. His major league career is likely over. The Orioles have recalled 29-year old righty swinging infielder Oscar Salazar from AAA ball to replace Trachsel on the roster. Salazar has played in 63 games in AAA ball this season and he is 78 for 251 (.311 avg, .841 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 7 homers, 44 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.

The Orioles have signed 32-year old lefty pitcher Randy Keisler to a minor league contract. He has pitched in 12 games (11 starts) in AAA this season and he is 4-6 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. But, he hasn’t had much success in his major league career to date. Keisler has pitched in 55 games (20 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-4 with a 6.63 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. Don’t look for him to add much to the Orioles’ pitching staff if he gets a chance to pitch for them.

The Orioles have claimed 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeff Fiorentino off waivers from the A’s as they never really wanted to lose him in the first place. He played in 2 games for the A’s this season and he was 1 for 1 (1.000 avg) with 1 run scored. He also has played in 8 AAA games in which he was 6 for 22 (.273 avg, .630 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen bases. Fiorentino might get an extended look in the majors later this season for the Orioles.

The Orioles have designated shortstop Luis Hernandez for assignment. He played in 36 games this season for the Orioles and he was 19 for 79 (.241 avg, .548 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Hernandez was the starting shortstop when the Orioles broke camp in spring training but he just wasn’t good enough to keep the job. Freddie Bynum and Alex Cintron will likely share the job for the time being. Bynum has been getting most of the playing time so far but he’s not hitting. Bynum has played in 19 games for the Orioles this season and he is 13 for 62 (.210 avg, .532 OPS) with 8 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Cintron has played better than Bynum and he might take over the starting job soon. He has played in 10 games this season and he is 7 for 20 (.350 avg, .731 OPS) with 1 RBI.

The Orioles have called up 24-year old righty Radhames Liz to replace Hernandez on the roster and Trachsel in the starting rotation. Liz has started 11 games in AAA this season and he is 1-5 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He will need to tighten up his control as he has walked 25 batters in 60 innings in AAA but he has whiffed 58 which shows what kind of stuff he has.